Publication Date:
2011-02-23
Description:
Considerable evidence indicates that the general blockade of protein synthesis prevents both the initial consolidation and the postretrieval reconsolidation of long-term memories. These findings come largely from studies of drugs that block ribosomal function, so as to globally interfere with both cap-dependent and -independent forms of translation. Here we show that intra-amygdala microinfusions of 4EGI-1, a small molecule inhibitor of cap-dependent translation that selectively disrupts the interaction between eukaryotic initiation factors (eIF) 4E and 4G, attenuates fear memory consolidation but not reconsolidation. Using a combination of behavioral and biochemical techniques, we provide both in vitro and in vivo evidence that the eIF4E–eIF4G complex is more stringently required for plasticity induced by initial learning than for that triggered by reactivation of an existing memory.
Print ISSN:
0027-8424
Electronic ISSN:
1091-6490
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
Permalink